John Farrell: Alex Rodriguez ‘being on the field is out of our hands’

As the Red Sox get ready to take on the Yankees in a three-game series at Fenway Park starting on Friday, the team will face, for the first time this year, Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez. Rodriguez, of course, is currently appealing his 211-game suspension for his role in the Biogenesis scandal and for what Major League Baseball characterized as his obstruction of the investigation into it.

In eight games through Wednesday, Rodriguez is hitting .258/.343/.419 with a homer. Some have questioned the fairness of his ability to participate in games at a time when he has been suspended for the use of PEDs, but manager John Farrell suggested that he had no qualms with a player taking advantage of an appeals process that was secured through collective bargaining between players and owners.

“He has every right to appeal [the suspension], which he is. We know he’s going to be in the lineup, and we’ll prepare accordingly. The process he’s going through is well within his rights. They’re in place for a reason and you can’t argue it,” the manager told reporters. “He being on the field is out of our hands. Until completely proven guilty this is what we’re dealing with.”